Uncoupling device for couplings.



H. T. ANDERSON. AJNCOUPLING DEVICE FOR COUPLINGS.

. APPLICATION HLED'NAN. 5. 1913. 1 1 89,773. I Patented July 4,1916.

3 $HEETS-SHEET I.

' H. T. ANDERSON. UNCOUPLING DEVICE FOR COUPLINGS. APPLICATION FILED MAR, 5.1913.

Patented July 4, 1910. 3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

' "Zi zag/225i?" 4 H. T..ANDE'RSON. UNCOUFLING DEVICE FOR COUPLINGS. I 4 APPLICATION r1120 MAR. 5.1913. a

1 ,189,773. Patented July 4, 1916'.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

" TED STATES HARRY '1. ANDERSON, or BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR To HARRY VISSERING dz COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION,OF -iILIiINOIS.

, UNCOUPLING nsvicnr'on COUPLINGS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY T-. ANnnnsoN,

' a citizen of the lnited States, and a resident of Butler, inthecounty of Butler and State of Pennsylvania,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Uncoupling Devices for Couplings, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relatesto devices for operating thelocks of couplers used in railway rolling stock and more particularly to improvements in the uncoupling levers cominoiily. used in connection with automatic and other car couplers, and hasspecial reference to the provision of an improved type of that class of uncoupler device which is operable from theside of the car or other structure to which it is applied.

The principal objects of my present invention are the provision of an improved device characterized as above which will readily accommodate itself to coupler pins of differentv locations relatively to the mountingof operating lever, and a device so characterized which is thus accoinmodative both longitudinally and laterally to various locations of the pin and likewise acconi inodativeto the movement of the draw bar as well longitudinally and laterally; the provision of an improved type of connecting link device employing reciprocable members which permit the operating lever to be pre- 'sented at all tinies in substantially the same operating position; the provision of. an improved device wherein the operating lever and, the cooperating connecting link device are separable or otherwise disehgageable to I the end, first, that should either part become broken 'or so extensivelyibenti in service that the replacement of either part is, required,

the discarding of the entire lock operating device will not be necessitated, and, second, one wherein the connecting link device may be used with other types of operating levers already vapplicd to cars without requiring the demounting or discarding of an entire lock operating device in order to util ze and gain the advantages of my present improve ments; the provision of an improved connecting link device which maybe most read. ily applied to coupling levers for their repair and equally readily detachable, and one which will not, however, tend to become accidentally detached in; service; together 1 Specification of Letters Patent.

with such additional objects as may be hereinbelow disclosed. i

v In the attainment of the objects above mentioned and in gaining certain further benefits which will hereinafter appear, I

have provided the construction illustrated link device employed in connection with the device of Figs. land, 2, in the positions there sli own, l 1g. 4 being partly in section. Fig. 6 is a view partly in section taken onthe line Patented July 1, i916.-

Application filed March 5, 1913. Serial'No. 752,200.

V I-VI of Fig. 5; Figs. 7 and-8 are views similar to Figs. 4 and 5 illustrative oha fniodified form of construction; Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of a detail of the r nstruction of the device of Figs. 7 and 8'; and Figs. 10.

and; 11, and 12 and 13, are pairs of figures similar to igs. 4 and 5 illustrative of fur,- ther modified forms of construction,

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be noted that I have here illustrated myinven lZlOlljlfifiUlbOCllBd in a device for the operating of the locking pin 10 of a coupler head 11, supported as here shown by a bracket 12' from the buffer 13 of a car body 14. The uncoupl ng device itself comprises an operating lever 15, supported from; any con- .venient locatiomisuch as the end sill, by

'siii table brackets 16, 16, anda I "connectiiig member here illustrated as a vertically disposed lifting link device, 17, more fully hereinafter described, the operating lever 15 having a handle 15 and the connecting link device 17 having engagement with the pin 10-as indicated at 18, where it passes'tlirou'gh the enlarged eye thereof.

. will be most clearly seen upon inspection Of-Fig. 2, the lever 15 is formed with fan operating'rocker arm portion 19 which is arrangedflto clear the butler or dead wood 13 and the id 1: theg c'oupler head may move laterally {withouttendency to place undue'strainl upon the device or de range the samethrough such strain.

Though obviously other forms of supxtended forward porting brackets 1( ---16 may be used for maintaining the operating lever in position, I preferably employ the device illustrated perhaps most clearly in Fig. 2, wherein it will be observed that the support here shown comprising two portions, of which the body or base portion may be permanently attached to the car by screws 21--21, passing through the holes 21--21, the member 20 having a tongued portion 22 adapted to make dove-tailed connection with the removable cap portion .23 which is apertured at 2-1- for the passage of the lever 15 therethrough, holes 25-S25, and 26 being pro vided in the members 22 and 23, respectively, to the end that when they areassembled in such a manner that such holes register the base and cap will be prevented from movement by the insertion of a cot ter pin 27 therethi'ough.

In order to provide a simpler and more efiicient connectionbetween the members 15 and 17, to the end that my improved device may he applied without alteration to cars of various design, irrespective of the location of the pin 10 relatively to "a convenient mounting for the member 15 and alsmtoProvide tor a ready replacement of the member 17 should it become broken or irreparably distorted in service, as Well as to provide a design of connecting link which may be used in connection with other types of coupler operating levers employed in railroad service at this day, I provide at the end of the off-set portion 19' of the lever- 15, means for engaging the connecting link 17 here shown as a closed eye 31, which should preferably be suiiiciently large to all(. w the connecting link device 17, now to be described, to be readily attached thereto.

1 Referring now moreparticularly to the link device of Figs. 4 and 5 itwill be ohserved that to the end that when the operating handle 15 is moved to the right of its positionshown in Fig. 2, lifting the pin 10 to the lock-set position shown in Fig. 3, and allowing the handle 15" thus to fall back to the position shown in Fig. 3, I employ in the link device 17 a pair of cooperating reciprocable members 32 and 33 respectively provided with eyes 34: and 35, whereby mutual engagement is attained and reciprocablemovement is possible. The members "32 and 33 maybe of malleable iron cast ,in the customary manner inthe operative relation shown, or they may be forgings in case extraordinary strength is required.

F or the purpose of making engagement between the lower end of the member 32jand the eye 18 of the pin 10, the member 32 is 'providcd with a normally open eye formper end of the member 33 and the portion 1 19 01 the member 15, I provide on the upper part of the member 33 a yoke 10 apertured at -11- i1 and having a housing 42 open at one end -13 and aperturcd at :1 for the re.- ception of oneleg 46 of a U-shaped latching member 17, the opposite leg thereof passing through the apertures 1111 and through the eye 31 on the member 11). F or holding the latch a? in adjusted position, and thereby locking the members 15 and 17 together, I mount within the housing 42 and around the leg 16, a coiled spring 18, holding it in position by means of a washer =19, riveted in position on the end of the leg 46 as indi cated at 50. 9

Referring now to the device of Figs. 7, 8 and 9, it will be observed in this embodiment-of my present improved reciprocable link device, the eye 31 'is supported upon a post 17* formed integrally upon the'member 33 and held in position thereupon by means of a strap 51 apertured at 52 (Fig. 9) for engagement with the member 33 and bifurcated as indicated at 52-52 to the end that it may straddle the post 47, the member 51 being preferably formed of malleable metal so that the extremities 53-53 of the bifurcated portions 52"--52 may be given a quarter bend in order to bear against the eye 31 so that the member 51 may be prevented from disengagement therefrom.

In the device of Figs. 10 and 11 connection is made between the member33 and the eye 31 by forming at the upper part of the member 33 a bifurcation 40"40" aperture-d at 4-1"41 'and provided with a housing 42, whereinl mount a plunger latch 47* against the head of which a spring 4:8 bears, such spring being heldin position by means of a washer 19* which is retained in position by riveting thereover the margin of the housing 42 as indicated at 50. In the device of Figs. 12 and 13, however, the member 33 is provided with a plain eye 47" for engagement with the eye 31 of the portion 19 of the operating lever 15, the present form of device being somewhat less expensive to manufacture than those above described andbeing conveniently employed in equipping new rolling stock, or where the use of a separable or detachable reciprocating linlc device 17 is not required.

In the employment of the device of Figs. ll an-d 13 it is highly desirable to use detachable brackets such as are described in connection with Figs. 1 and 2, since the hook 556 has first to be applied to the eye 18 of the pin 10, the lever 15 then moved to operating position and the'bracket mem bers 23 applied to-the members 20 and pinned in position thereupon.

It is believed that the operation of devices employing my invention will be under- "stood by those skilled in the art to which it pertains without more exemplified description.

Having thus described my invention and. I0 1llustrated ts use, what I claim as new and. desire to secure by Letters Patent isthe following 1. The combination with a coupler hav ing a locking device and a lever 'for operating said locking device, of a longitudinally freely movable reciprocable connection between Stud lever and lOQkUIg dBVICQ, comprising a pair of members each provided adjacent .one end with aneye engag-, 0 mg the other of said members.

2, An uncoupling device for coupler locks comprising, in combination, an operating lever, a coupler pin, a link therebetween including two members connected f together non-rotatively and within fixed limits freely movable longitudinally relatively to each'other, apin mounted on and slidable relatively to one of said members adapted to connect said member to, said operating lever and a spring adaptedto yieldingly retain said pin in engagement with said operating lever.

3; An uncoupling device for coupler locks comprising, in combination, anoperating lever, a dink including two members connected together non-rotatively but freel movable longitudinally relatively to eac other, means permanently connected to one of said members for releasably connecting said link with the coupler lock, a pm I .have hereunto 

